In the world of financial software, particularly in the field of consolidation and reporting, various solutions are available. Two frequently mentioned options are Smartbooks and Lucanet. Both systems offer powerful functionalities, but depending on your organization’s needs, their strengths may differ. In this blog, we compare the key features of Smartbooks and Lucanet to help you make the best choice.
Functionality
Lucanet is known for its extensive functionalities for financial consolidation and reporting. It provides in-depth capabilities for intercompany eliminations, consolidation structures, and statutory reporting, making it a good option for companies with complex financial structures.
Smartbooks stands out with its advanced budgeting functionalities, including both top-down and bottom-up budgeting. This allows companies to easily model their own business logic and simulate scenarios for future planning. This makes Smartbooks an interesting option for companies that want to focus not only on consolidation but also on budgeting and forecasting.
Reporting and Data Analysis
Both systems offer extensive reporting capabilities but differ in their approach. Lucanet utilizes a powerful Excel integration, allowing users to create flexible reports based on the latest financial data. For many finance professionals, this is a familiar working method.
Smartbooks on the other hand, offers a real-time dashboard that is directly linked to the general ledger administration. This enables users to continuously gain insight into their financial situation without relying on exports to Excel. This can be an advantage for companies that need immediate, visual reports within the software itself.
Data Processing and Speed
Lucanet is optimized for large amounts of data and complex consolidations, but loading transactions can take some time as there is no standard incremental loading option available.
Smartbooks offers fast and automated transaction processing, partly due to its ability to load data in real-time. This makes it an efficient choice for companies that need quick insights into their financial data.
Ease of Use and Implementation
Lucanet provides a robust platform with extensive functionalities, but this also means that implementation and training may take some time. This is especially relevant for companies that have no prior experience with comprehensive consolidation software and need time to familiarize themselves with its features.
Smartbooks is a user-friendly and quickly implementable solution. According to users, the implementation can be completed in just a few days, which can be advantageous for organizations that want to become operational with new software quickly.
Costs and Pricing Models
Lucanet generally operates with a licensing model that depends on the size of the company and the required functionalities. The costs can be higher, but in return, it offers a comprehensive set of consolidation and reporting capabilities.
Smartbooks offers a flexible pricing model with lower monthly costs and a 30-day free trial period, during which the implementation is fully taken care of. This makes it an attractive choice for companies looking for a cost-efficient solution.
Conclusion
Both Smartbooks and Lucanet offer powerful solutions for financial consolidation and reporting, but the choice between the two depends on the specific needs of your company:
- Lucanet is best suited for organizations with complex legal consolidation structures and multiple general ledger systems. However, compared to Smartbooks, the software is more complex to implement and manage, and it is more expensive in terms of purchase/subscription. Lucanet also relies on Excel to fulfill reporting needs.
- Smartbooks is highly suitable for organizations where all entities use a general ledger system from Exact, Twinfield, or Afas and require slice-and-dice reporting at the transaction level. Additionally, Smartbooks provides functionalities for both top-down and bottom-up budgeting. The real-time reports and dashboards are available within the application but can also be exported to Excel.